The UN Human Rights Council held a general discussion and debate on the situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, as part its 26th ordinary session in Geneva, Tuesday, amidst ongoing raids and continued violations in the West Bank region.The Council warned of repercussions for Israel’s hostile campaign against the Palestinian people and called on the Israeli government to end it, according to Palestinian Permanent Human Rights Council Envoy Ibrahim Khraishi.
In an interview with a local radio station, Khraishi said, “States participating in the session urged the Israeli occupation government to comply by Article 1 of Geneva Conventions as well as Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention,” noting that Israel is obliged to meet its legal obligations.
Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention stipulates: “The High Contracting Parties undertake to enact any legislation necessary to provide effective penal sanctions for [parties] committing, or ordering to be committed, any of the grave breaches of the present Convention.”
Representatives from Israel did not attend the meeting.
“We will hold a meeting with the Foreign Ministry and other ministries to discuss acceding to international conventions”, Khraishi added.
According to WAFA, the envoy stressed that acceding to such conventions is not a reaction to the Israeli practices but an inherent right for Palestine; a step which comes as part of Palestinian efforts to reinforce state institutions and explore possibilities to support Palestine’s fair demands.
The official press release from the council can be found here.
Khraishi concluded by openly requesting the Israeli occupation government halt its racist practices against Palestinian prisoners and civilians.
Today, Israeli vandals sprayed racist anti-Arab graffiti on the retaining walls which surround the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, southeast of Jerusalem, according to witnesses.
Among the slogans painted were: “death to Arabs,” “get out Arabs,” “price tag,” “‘Kahane was right” and “the soldiers of David’s home.”
Violations by Israeli settlers usually go unprosecuted, with little more than token acknowledgement coming from law enforcement agencies. Settler invasions of Palestinian property are often backed by Israeli police, with further reinforcement by the military.
Today, Mustafa Aslan, 24, died of wounds sustained five days ago after being shot in the head by live Israeli rounds in Qalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, during confrontations which erupted in the camp on Friday.
WAFA further reports that troops continued their large-scale search operation with raids on Wadi Al-Quf, Beit Kahel and al-Hasaka, where they searched and ransacked several plant nurseries and houses.
A local farmer said that the soldiers seized his surveillance cameras as they locked the family into a room and ransacked their house.
Troops also detained nursery guards for several hours of interrogation, according to Fadel Al-Mahariq, an Agriculture Ministry employee in charge of Wadi Al-Quf plant nurseries.
At a checkpoint erected by the Israeli troops at the eastern entrance of Beit Dajan, a village to the east of Nablus, a Palestinian elderly on her way to hospital for chest pains died Wednesday, after being delayed by Israeli forces.
Her taxi was stopped by soldiers for more than half an hour, preventing her from reaching the public hospital in Nablus and ultimately leading to her death, according to a family member.
Israeli forces also raided several sports clubs, plant nurseries and houses in the Hebron and Bethlehem districts, today.
Commenting on the club raid, Head of the Higher Council of Youth and Sports Major General Jibril Al-Rjoub said: “These raids come as part of the ongoing Israeli violations aimed at obstructing and aborting the Palestinian youth and sports movement through arbitrary measures. This is a reckless policy indicating Israel’s moral bankruptcy.”
Such stories make up the drama of every day life for Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Invasions have escalated in weeks past, as Israel continues its alleged ‘arrest campaign’ under the pretext of searching for three missing Israeli settlers.
Though ailing hunger strikers in Israeli jails appear to have suspended their strike, Israel has doubled its amount of administrative detainees during the campaign.
Furthermore, an Israel official has denied that an agreement between prisoners and administration was ever reached: http://www.imemc.org/article/68231
Evidence that the three missing settlers were abducted at all, whether by Hamas or another party, remains non-existent.
